Friday, July 17, 2009

Indonesia Bomb Victims Were Attending Business Forum

By TOM WRIGHT Some of the victims of Indonesia's deadly hotel bombings were attending an Indonesian business forum held at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott hotel Friday morning.

The meeting, organized by CastleAsia, a well-known Indonesian consulting firm run by an American, was part of a series of events sponsored by the firm that gathers prominent business executives and political leaders to discuss Indonesian affairs.

Timothy Mackay, chief executive of Holcim Indonesia, the local unit of Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd., was killed attending the event. James Castle, CastleAsia's founder and a well-known analyst on Indonesian affairs, was among those injured. An employee at CastleAsia said he was recovering at a Jakarta hospital from unspecified injuries. Mr. Castle was also in the J.W. Marriott when it was bombed in 2003, killing 12, but he was not injured in that incident.

Friday's meeting was attended by a total of 19 senior business leaders. Another guest, Noke Kiroyan, a former chairman of Rio Tinto's Indonesian operations, was also there and taken to a Jakarta hospital and was being treated for injuries.

At least eight people were killed when bombs ripped through both the J.W. Marriott and the nearby Ritz Carlton in Jakarta early Friday morning. The largest explosion occurred in the lobby of the JW Marriott, eyewitnesses said. The business group was meeting in a conference room just off the lobby.